numbers were dropping when we had more and more small dogs come the system. we were on nbc news and had a videographer and just the amazing experience people are because many times when they move into supportive housing that's our measure of success, but for the individuals it be isolating sometimes and particularly for individual who is are older, with disabilities, all of those things and many people experience depression because they realize they hit this milestone but they don't feel a sense of purpose so this was an amazing experience for us and these individuals were changed. one women lost 16 pounds from going out walking her dog. her doctor had been on her for years and her health

would improve if she was physically active and with the dog it was fun to her. we had an individual that was on heroin for years and his teeth were ravaged and he felt he didn't have a red letter "h" for homeless and he wanted people to see a different person and working through project connect he worked to get dentures which will change his life. the response to wolf -- as you know it was controversial. people called it pubbies for pand handlers and we know they do that because they don't have income and can't make it through the month so i see this as a valid alternative for people but we were opposed for the people of the ethical treatment of animals and they offered the city money to not give the program because they said we were giving dogs to mentally

ill people and people that see themselves wanting to save animals live would rather see it killed instead of placed in homelessness to overcome their behavioral issues so right now we are seeking a foundation to help us with this and it's been challenging but we believe this year we will start it and so many people approached us and want to participate in the program. next i want to talk about wet housing and i am an advocate and if you google 1811 eastlake in seattle will it tell you about 75 units of housing and they house people through section eight so they don't have a list that has been closed for 11 years and able to qualify people with the section eight qualification so they reenter this housing, but this housing is designed for people who are

chronic inebriants so for example the stove stays on for only 15 minutes. you have to push a button to have it go on longer. there is an intercom to see if someone is okay if they haven't come down in two days. so the facet doesn't run over there is a turn off and if you look at these systems and the health department did a lot of work around. we spend millions of dollars on the top 5e neebants and alcohol is harder to kick and more dangerous for people and they went in seattle to the highest user to the 75th and they made the offers for the acceptances and again it's controversial. people can't drink there. if someone wants

to give some of the check to a staff member and they make a beer run and individuals are in the area and they maintain it and in a bin and can come get it and harm reduction is about. recognizing as a city we waste money for people picked up by paramedics and ambulances and going to the general falling and injuring themselves and thousands of dollars for the injuries and i have visited these people and we have gone with the mayor and others because they want to address what they experience and we want them to partner with us, so we have hope of going into an upcoming direct access building and that is not going to be possible because it was likely we were going to mix a different population with this population and the desire is to have the

entire building dedicated but i hope very soon and i say very much i would welcome the involvement of the council if you do send letters or provide support i definitely think this is a concept if you look at it i would be grateful to have your help and support for wet housing. nancy cross is here and a correct visitor to our office and around city hall and our agency has adopted a smoke free policy and they are moving to implement and when we visited seattle they had a lot of success and they developed what are called breathe easy units and units designed for people with chronic asthma and other conditions and i met a young man who moved into the family's unit in eighth grade and had issues and when i met him he never had to return to the hospital for the asthma again and this is

another concept and imagine what this is about and the council to recognize this and rehabilitate units and easy things to do in terms of paint, flooring and makes it possible for people to live and breathe in a good manner so as you can tell a year letter i am as energetic and happy as i was. i never had a job where i wanted to do more and i am grateful in life when i go home and with that i will take any questions that you have. >> thank you mr. dufty. and now we will take questions from the council first and then we will have public comment. councilmembers? chip. >> thank you mr. dufty. i didn't know much about the program about hope at all and at first glance it's innovative,

compassionate, and smart. i like how you look at people with different levels of disabilities and different types of disabilities and try to achieve accommodation for that. it's very important. yeah, i kind of don't know where to start. i have a few comments. i work at the needle exchange at glide and i see the folks lining up outside to sleep in the cold for the following day's beds and it's highly discriminatory with people with any mobility issues, for women, for just anyone who might feel their safety is compromised by laying on the street. it's disturbing, and i would really like to see some efforts go into examining that system and seeing what we can do about that. yeah, yeah. i

have personal experience being homeless, and this was before cell phones and one could spend an entire day trying to get one phone call through to somebody finding the change, finding a phone that worked, finding time, and finally getting through to the person that you need to speak to, so cell phones, yes. it's great to get these tools into people's hands for so many reasons, not just housing, for other forms of support and other things that are human rights. and then finally i wanted just -- i didn't get this impression from you but there seems to be an impression in the community that people are use drugs and alcohol are inherently incapable of being responsible people and i want to make sure you are dispelling that in some ways when you put together these

programs and not all people that drink do it to excess and they can still manage lives quite well. i know that there's an organization in the city called the drug users union which is trying to communicate and educate the public that not people that use drugs are bad and drugs are not all bad and drinking alcohol and there is a difference in the statements, so if that could somewhat -- >> sure. i would love to go on the record from that. first of all from a important -- personal experience i grew up in new york and my grandmother was billy holiday and was on trial for an arrest and at that time you couldn't

perform in a night club without this and she couldn't work and she grew up a block from me and she was -- actually 93rd street. i'm sorry. i was a baby. and she came to our house everyday and my dad coauthored "lady sings the blues" and i say that because my god mother was addicted to heroin. i was around talented people addicted to heroin. when she died before i turned five my mother went to work for a heroin addiction clinic in harlem and i have empathy and understanding. it's my childhood. i think i had amazing childhood but i grew up with individuals detected to heroin. they were afraid of the visit system. they had no place

to go and it was a terrible situation, so i think that i had the perfect childhood to do the work they do, and i am proud of the fact that i sponsored legislation passed by the board of supervisors that people could purchase sir ridges from walgreens or other stores without a prescription and i did that. i support needle exchange. of course we have to work together when there are a lot of needles that are discarded in places where the public can be and we are a city with needle exchange and a major reason the epidemic hasn't taken the course in san francisco as it has in much of america and i think we did a great service there so i definitely see that alcohol is an addition. it's not a personal weakness on the part of an individual. it's not something that someone can change and the people that i met at eastlake had powerful

stories so when the mayor went we went to a gentleman's room and he was excited to meet the mayor and even though he was a native of washington state he lived in san francisco for years and he had spice bottles and he complained he didn't have big enough pots and it's an efficiency room and the mayor asked "why do you need so large pots" and he said i make soup and i entice my friends to accept housing so i certainly recognize the dignity and worth of every individual no matter what station they're in in their life and i see enormous possibilities so i absolutely think your message is a very important one to keep in mind and as you imagine i deal with very age ree people that want people to go away and disappear

and i understand they think the city can do better and on the other hand we have to recognize people are complicated. that's why facebook is so successful and when they ask about relationships. it's complicated and everybody has a path and we have to do the best they can and at times ask them to make better decisions and living under the freeway is not a good decision and we will take a different approach when caltrans is at fifth and king and instead of stabilization beds and scattering people we will lease the church on howard and six and move the entire community over and invite the coalition of homelessness and realize they have value. i talk about the coalition a lot because we

have been polarized and you need your critics close to you and they have a voice. our shelter beds are pretty much full. if you take on to that area and is difficult because muni doesn't run out there and we have 234 stabilization beds that are sro and stabilization beds as you know are an important tool for long-term street dwellers and they don't want to go into the shelter so you need a stabilization room so we have 234. we don't have more than five at a given time so barbara garcia from the health department, trent from human services, myself and engaged with the mayor's budget office and i can't respond to the reelection. i can't change what is going on division or any of the neighborhoods unless i have

a tool of stabilization beds and one of the challenges is people are not as successful as they are being in that housing that's the population that should be able to move up and until we make more units available we don't have a exit strategy for people and i am sure you know people if they're in housing that's where they are. they're not advancing anywhere and so we really have to look at what we can do to open up some positive exits for people into that housing. >> thank you. wendy. >> bevan dufty, i would like to commend you. all this hard work and you're right. it's going to be very challenging to try to end it, which i know probably it won't, but you're right. we need to continue to get places where people can get a bed at

least if nothing else. like i see so many buildings in san francisco that are boarded up that are not in use and have been boarded up for years. i have been in san francisco for about 16 years, and i myself have been homeless, and have lived in a shelter, and the experience there was not a good one, and i have lived in sro's. luckily now i have housing but it's subsidized housing, and that's a step up, but it's still not my own and i couldn't afford it because i am on disability and i know there are a lot of people like me. i am also a senior with a disability, so it's very challenging to try to get move up somewhere that's decent and be on your own and i know people on the streets would like a place of their own and i know it's a big challenge but if we could open up some of the

empty buildings that have been empty for years and years, and put housing in there, or open a shelter where we can have beds for these people and might have a semi-temporary housing so they can move up in the world. if we can help them more that would be great but i don't know how we can do that, and maybe you know more than i do, and maybe you can help us figure this out because i know this is very challenging, and you've done a lot of hard work, and there is still more to do, so if there is anything that we can do let us know, and the general public also. >> i think it would be good to invite the mayor's office on housing and a presentation on proposition c and the voters voted for a affordable housing trust fund. when i was a supervisor i voted with mr. avalos and increased the

property transfer taxes and created a lot of money and it's good and it can be $120 million. some years it's $8 million so it's a volatile source of income, but what was done by mayor lee and consensus with a lot of stakeholders let's take the properties between 1 million, and 5 million so there is an on going source. the last time the voters passed a bond like that was in 86 and it failed twice because it required a 2/3 vote and the trust fund did extremely and i think it would be good to have a presentation because i am aware there is a mix of housing.

some is focused on low income and some is work force housing and i understand they want first responder housing for firefighters and police to live in the city and i think it would be good to have a presentation on prop c and i think you can advocate for individuals at the level you're describing and the importance of developing housing for them. i do want to say they think the excitement we created around barb and we got additional building that we the partnership applied through the continuum of care and it's for chronically homeless. it maybe for transitionally young adults or veterans. there are possibilities we're working on now and the va is happy with the

program and i would call it damp housing and you can't drink there but you can get drunk around the corner and it's not a great model but it's 24 units of housing and i am hard pressed to turn it down so there we will have to apply for it, but having different providers come talk to you and you share with them some of the concerns or experiences that people have. i think it would be great to invite the housing authority commission to come and talk and i am concerned about the individual it's the housing authority doesn't have funding for social services and being connected to different areas of government is essential and to nancy cross' concerns i would say that chp is opening up the rene [inaudible] apartments and at second and folsom and i believe 120 units that are going to be there. it's a large building under construction there and they are considering

being a smoke free environment so if you want to make nancy happen and issue a letter and encourage that and that will make her very happy, and it maybe a housing she might accept. that would make me very happy. >> thank you. thank you so much. >> okay. thank you. >> pleasure to see you again and thank you for the work you have done for the city -- >> bring your mic up. >> upon occasion i go out i see a lot of homeless elderly, and my heart breaks for them because i know so many things aren't really accessible for them and they have a multitude of issues

including disabilities too, and i am just wondering about that and i am thinking about that in the sense of transportation. i am just wondering if they have one or two buses available for the homeless. i have seen mothers with children and i am wondering how do they get around? how are they able to get to appointments? >> on the senior issue we have continued the shelter access workgroups that we started which i discussed three on one approach for reservations and supervisor kim's involvement so right now we're looking at shelter related services and we're looking -- we're going to have a work group on seniors so i will share with your director information about that. if you or people you're in contact with if you go to the shelters there are many seniors living there. one of the challenges situations we have there are individuals in shelter who cannot perform

activities of daily living so they are individuals they can't attend to their toilet needs, caring for themselves, and it is very, very difficult, and it's difficult for the shelters because they're not equipped to provide that level of care and support, and so i think that what i hope to see is a shelter that has a stepped up medical component to it, so certainly with the opening of kelly cullin community on golden gate that will have a clinic located right there and i think that's obviously the gold standard of what we would want to see, but i definitely think there is need for a shelter that is focused on seniors and disabled individuals because again there are many individuals that have -- they maybe under very serious treatment, chemotherapy, and other treatment and they're in a shelter which is difficult and don't have the abilities and i welcome your oversight and

participation in the work group and recommendations. >> i have one other question. i see a lot of teenos the street, a lot and i am just wondering what is happening with their lives? >> so there is a transitional age youth plan that the city has embraced and part of that is developing 400 units of housing. larkin youth services is developing edwin the second on lombard street. there was battling with the community which was unfortunate but that was approved and that will open next year and will open through the continuum of care. i am interested in that being teen housing and with the coalition of hate ashbury and there are few services there and that's part of the reason people aren't moving. yes it's a mobile population. yes they're going to seattle, portland, san francisco and they're young people and they don't have

housing to refer people to and again a young person -- a housing authority list that is closed for five years is no relevancy in addressing that, so i am hopeful we have a meeting in the next two weeks with them to see what we can do but i think that is important. i am proud of the fact larkin street created the housing in the castro. you don't really see it but it's the hotel right there, the paramount, and we have 20 individuals there. it's a seven year program and i am hoping to take over the entire building. >> thank you. harriet. >> thank you bevan dufty. >> thank you. >> just one question i guess. what is the security like for someone living in the shelter? >> that's an excellent question, and i really think it depends on what your circumstances are. who are you? so if you're someone that has maybe been in the system and knows people you

maybe secure but i have many people that will not go into the shelters and people that feel because they're not part of the community in a shelter that they won't be accepted. i didn't have the opportunity to talk about the fact that i have been working with supervisor campos. deloras street services is successful. they have the smaller shelters and because they're smaller from an individual standpoint it's not as daunt to go into them, but deloras street has 57 beds at south van ness and 21st street and an amazing beautiful building. it's sunny and van ness street and many of you know connie ford and part of the labor council. she has her offices there. there is a child care center there and 57 beds and everybody exists together

which we need more examples of but the second floor opened up with 24 units and deloras street and supervisor campos got a grant for the first lgbt shelter in san francisco and we were excited about that and a dozen years ago the prior executive director never closed the permit and it was designed for the 57 beds but there was basic code enforcement upgrades for the existing 57 beds so we had $130,000 gap and working with supervisor campos and activists and the housing alliance and i am pleased to tell you this week a construction company came in to be the construction manager and make cash contributions and we have a contribution of third thousand dollars and we hope to

have this plan next week and i bring this up because individuals that are lgbt are uncomfortably and unsafe. there is a lesbian couple that came from tennessee. they went to the shelters and didn't feel safe and prepared to be on the streets so it's difficult. i know there are many people that feel uncomfortable. what i see 10 years ago to now with shelters is tremendously better but i think the shelter monitoring community is a important process and i go to and i participate in it and i think it's important to support that process where people can come forward and register their concerns and complaints and i think we're still striving to address and i hope people will come forward with their experiences to my office or to

the shelter monitoring process. >> so at these shelters are there cameras? >> there are cameras at different shelters and facilities. there are. >> okay. actually one more question -- >> and as much as i said that i want to recognize the providers work very hard and i have been at many programs and i see individuals who -- i see respect from staff to clients, clients to staff. i don't want to pour them out. it's challenging. it's difficult because people waited in lines. they have to go through metal detectors. sometimes they need to leave early in the morning so the providers are working very hard but there are people that won't access the shelters and people that don't feel safe and for a transgendered individual i understand how difficult ii